it's not even explainable how they became like this. Losing Granger and getting Bynum and Turner?

This! To me that is far too much change in season for a team that was going so good at the time. There seems to be something wrong with chemistry now too which is odd considering that seemed to be their main strength not long ago.

I think Indy might coast, and a few of the games will be closer than they need to be, but I just don't think this particular Hawks team is going to push it past 5 games. Atlanta failed to win 40 games, and although the Pacers have struggled recently, they still beat the Thunder on the weekend. That should remind us that they are an elite team.

Well, it looks like the Pacers from the 2nd half of the season are still here, and not the dominating defensive team from the first 2 months. IND may very well lose this series if they continue to play the way they have the past 4 months, and there's no signs of that not continuing to happen judging by how they played in last nights game.

Other than bringing on the new guys, one other chemistry changing factor has been about 3 shots per game taken away from George Hill and now being taken from Lance Stephenson.

Last season both Stephenson and Hill both played crucial roles for the Pacers. Hill was a big game player and hit timely and clutch shots while being the quarterback, he was looking a bit like Billups; Stephenson was just a wildman who made things happen without really having any plays run for him.

This year Stephenson has the ball in his hands more often and kind of plays the role that Hill played last year, meanwhile Hill appears to be the odd man out in the starting lineup on the offensive end.

I think the Pacers miss an aggresive George Hill and in some ways miss the more chaotic Stephenson of last year.